Tainted Hope
by Shadougelover14
Summary: Slight AU, changed the name to something that fit better; Aster couldn't have imagined what lay in wait for him when he was sent to investigate a suspicios patch of forest...
1. Chapter 1

Aster glanced around uneasily, taking in the dark, shadowy woods.

_Why_ did he let North talk him into this?

There had been sightings of shadowy figures coming and going in this area, and the others had been too busy to investigate, so Aster had to be the one check it out.

He didn't mind really, but why did it have to be at night? He wasn't fond of the dark; he wouldn't call it fear, he just didn't like not being able to see everything. Not even the light of the moon could pierce through the thick foliage.

The dead leaves crunched under his large feet, and he winced as he listened for any other movement. So far, the only sign of life he'd seen was a crow watching him from a branch earlier, but it had taken off when he'd tried to get a closer look.

'_This is bonkers...prob'ly just some birds or somethin'...'_ he thought.

He was just about to open a tunnel for the Pole so he could report to North and go home, when there was a sudden commotion from deep in the woods. A flock of black birds took to the air and flew off with shrill caws, and the wind picked up as a chill filled the air.

Aster instinctively pulled out his boomerangs, and glanced around nervously as he tried to locate what had startled the birds; birds didn't just take off like that without a reason.

"Ello...?" he called, wishing his voice wouldn't quiver.

He didn't receive an answer, and that scared him more than actually getting an answer would have.

"Whoever's there betta' come out now!"

This time, he heard a distinctive chuckle, and it sounded from deep in the woods.

'_Turn around, Aster, just turn around now!'_ his mind was shouting.

Ignoring the sirens going off in his head, he took a few steps in the direction of the laugh, keeping his senses on high alert. He kept feeling like there were eyes boring into his back, but every time he looked back there was no one.

"I'm gonna kill North when I get back..." he mumbled, trying to keep his nerves from shattering.

There was another laugh, closer this time, and he whipped around in a circle to try and locate the emitter.

"Who's there?!" he yelled.

Something brushed against his back, and he whirled around, but there was nothing there.

"Hello, Love..."

He spun around again, and found himself looking at another Pooka. The other was about a foot and a half taller, and his fur was the darkest shade of black, it even stood out in the dark of the woods. The only other splash of color on him was his eyes, which were glowing yellow.

Aster's eyes widened as he stumbled backwards.

"P-Pitch..."

Pitch grinned, flashing sharp, yellowed teeth.

"What brings you to my nick of the woods?"

Aster didn't answer, and took another step back. Pitch suddenly vanished, before reappearing behind the other Pooka. Aster found this out when two hands grabbed his arms and yanked him back into Pitch's chest.

"What's the matter, Aster? You're not still scared of the dark, are you?"

"Rack off!" Aster hissed breathlessly.

He tried yanking himself free, but Pitch kept an iron grip.

"Now, now, what's the rush?"

"Let go'a me, Pitch-!"

Needle sharp claws dug into his arms, making him wince.

"Do behave yourself, or I might just have to punish you."

Aster inwardly shuddered, before once again trying to twist out of his grip. This time, he added a kick to Pitch's leg as well, and the shadowy Pooka let him go with a yell.

Aster wasted no time in taking off on all fours. There was a furious shout from behind, before all went eerily silent. Looking back, he saw that Pitch was gone. The area seemed to grow darker though, and the temperature dropped further.

"Do you think you can run from me? This is **MY** forest; no one leaves this place _**ALIVE**_ unless I allow it!"

Something wrapped around his ankle, and yanked. He yelped as he fell forward and the ground, and he was stunned for a moment. When whatever was holding him started dragging him back, he snapped out of his daze, and looked back to find out what was going on.

A tendril of black was wrapped around his ankle, and dragging him towards a black hole in the ground. Eyes widening, Aster gave a yell as he tried to grab hold of anything that would stop his descent. His boomerangs had slipped from his grasp when he'd fallen, and were now lying a few feet away, well out of reach. Whimpering, he sank his claws into the dirt, but it did little to help.

The tendril pulled him thigh deep into the hole, and that's when hands grabbed his ankles and started pulling as well. This gave him a burst of energy, and he once again started fighting against the hold as he screamed, praying Manny, someone, **_ANYONE_**, would hear him.

He continued sinking though, and the hands moved from his ankles to his legs, then to his waist as he fell further, eliciting another scream. He kicked out at his captor, but he was still dragged in with one more strong yank, and screamed one last time as the hole closed over him.

The air was knocked out of him upon hitting the ground. The tunnel was dark, but he could still see the glowing yellow eyes staring down at him hungrily. A large foot placed itself on his chest, and the eyes grew closer as pressure pushed down on him chest, leading him to the conclusion that Pitch was kneeling over him.

"I've been waiting a long time for this, Aster..." was the last thing he heard before darkness took him.

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...Well, finally found a ship I could contribute to...the only way I could write it so it worked for me though was either A) Pitch was a Pooka, or B) Aster was human. And since Bhis something I myself will never write, I went with choice A. I hope you enjoy this trip into my twisted insanity. Next part will be uploaded later today!

P.S. I wrote this on my iPad, so now my hands are cramped up, and I went through the painstaking process of uploading it FROM my iPad, so ya better appreciate this! Enjoy.


	2. Chapter 2

When Aster came to, he was in a dimly lit room, lying on something soft. The walls were made of black sand, and there were a few torches stuck in the wall.

He tried to sit up, but something bound his arms to whatever he was lying on, and this fact sent him into a panic. In the dim light, he could make out black chains wrapped around his arms, keeping them tied to a black bed frame.

"Ah, you're awake I see."

Pitch suddenly appeared beside the large bed, smirking down at him, and Aster shuddered as he gazed into his glowing eyes. Pitch smoothly sat down beside the trapped Pooka, grinning when Aster attempted to move away.

"What...what do you want, Pitch?"

Pitch smirked again, and leaned over him as he used one claw to tilt Aster's chin up. His other paw reste on his chest, sharp claws barely pressing against the skin. Pitch's face was so close that Aster could feel the faint breath coming from his nose.

"You, Love..."

Aster felt his blood run cold, and Pitch's smirk widened. The larger Pooka's paw started moving down at an agonizingly slow place, and stopped just above his waist. Aster started kicking and pulling at his arms, filling the dark room with the rattling sound of chains, as he yelled,

"Pitch please-! I'll do anything else, but please, please not this!"

Pitch grinned maliciously, and leaned down further; Aster shuddered upon feeling the cold nose press against his throat.

"Please...please let me go..." he whimpered.

Pitch inhaled deeply, before murmuring, "Ah, Love...your fear is quite intoxicating, please give me more..."

This sentence began the longest night in Aster's existence...

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Aster stared at the far wall, curled up on his side. Pitch had removed the chains a few weeks ago, but Aster didn't dare try to run. He'd learned to not try to escape from or fight back against Pitch. Several bite marks and a fractured rib could make you learn quickly.

He'd been here for probably half a month, he wondered if the others were still looking for him. They were stubborn, especially North, so most likely they were. Would they even be able to find him down here? He was starting to doubt it; he wasn't too sure that even the Man in the Moon could see him.

But perhaps that was a good thing...

He didn't want the Guardians, or Manny, to know about the things that had happened in this room...no one should...

The bed dipped, and a black furred arm wrapped around him, pulling him into Pitch's chest. Aster tried his best to stay silent as his ears flattened against his head.

"Morning, Love, how are you feeling? I do hope last night's fun didn't harm you too badly..."

Aster flinched when Pitch's paw trailed over his abdomen, lightly tracing a few deep scratch marks with his claws.

"I imagine you're hungry, yes?"

As if his stomach was answering for him, a low growl resounded from it. Pitch gave a low chuckle, giving the other Pooka's stomach a pat, before he moved away. Aster glanced back in time to see Pitch reappear with a silver tray piled with fresh carrots and a cup of tea.

"Breakfast is ready, Love."

Aster's eyes narrowed and he turned away.

"If you're going to be stubborn, I can easily force feed you."

After a few seconds of deliberation, Aster slowly sat up, glowering at the black furred rabbit as he did. Pitch gave an approving smile, and set the tray on the bed beside him. Aster slowly took one of the carrots, sniffing it suspiciously, before taking a bite out of it.

"Is there anything else you would like, Love?"

Aster shot another glower.

"I dunno, mate, let's see...oh yeah, you could _LET_ me _GO_!"

Pitch smirked, before sauntering over to the side of the bed Aster was inhabiting and crouching beside it.

"We've discussed this Aster; your place is here, and you're not leaving."

"Ya can't keep me here forever, and when the Guardians come-!"

Aster was cut off when Pitch suddenly lunged at him, grabbing his arms and slamming them on the bed. Blazing yellow eyes met terrified emerald green ones, and for a moment things were silent, except for Aster's frantic panting. After a minute, Pitch smirked, and leaned down to press his nose against Aster's throat.

"Even _IF_ they find you...do you believe that they'll accept you after they find out?"

Aster shuddered, and tried to squirm out of his grip, but Pitch kept him down as he climbed on top.

"How can you hope to protect children..."

He shuddered again, and whimpered as Pitch gave his neck a slow, sensual lick.

_"When you can't even protect yourself..."_

The tongue traveled up his neck, stopped just below his jawbone, then went back down. Pitch nuzzled his neck, and he winced when Pitch began nipping at it. Aster's arms were released, but were quickly restrained again by black tendrils. Pitch's paws trailed lightly along his sides, before one slipped under his back and headed for his tail.

Aster was caught between moaning from the touch, and resisting it with every fiber of his being, resulting in something similar to a convulsion. Pitch smirked, and nuzzled his neck again, inhaling deeply.

"Your fear is simply delicious…but it's not just fear of me, is it? You're afraid of what the Guardians will think of you if they knew…"

Aster was forced to tilt his head up as Pitch burrowed into his neck. Pitch pulled his arms up and placed them on either side of Aster's head, smirking down at the younger Pooka beneath him.

"And not just that; you're afraid, because deep down…"

Pitch lowered his head beside Aster's, relishing the sensation of the gray Pooka trembling under him.

"Deep down…_you love it_…"

Aster let out a scream as he started thrashing in an attempt to throw Pitch off of him.

"YOU'RE WRONG YA SICK DINGO! GET OFFA ME! GET AWAY FROM ME-!"

He was cut off when Pitch bit down on his neck, and felt blood running down his skin. Pitch leaned back, grinning at the reaction he got when Aster noticed the blood on his mouth.

"Don't start getting too fussy now, Love, our fun's only just begun…"

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	3. Chapter 3

Aster was barely aware of anything as he lay on the bed, his chest rising and falling with his rapid breathing. Pitch was beside him, also panting, but in a more controlled manner.

"Seems…I wasn't far off when…I said you loved it." Pitch panted.

Aster flinched, but didn't reply. The tendrils restraining his arms vanished, and he was pulled into Pitch's chest. He weakly tried to pull away, but Pitch had a good grip on him.

"Now then, why don't you get cleaned up, and I might let you out of here to roam around a bit?"

Aster glowered at him, and Pitch met it with a smirk, before leaning forward. Aster shuddered as Pitch's tongue ran across his neck, including the fresh bite mark.

"Of course, I could always clean you myself…"

When the tongue started towards his face, Aster immediately shoved him away with as much strength as he could muster, and turned over to face away from him. As he did so, Aster noticed a new doorway off to the right that had formed in the black wall.

"You have half an hour; any longer, and I'll come in to help you…"

With that, Pitch vanished from the room.

It took a couple of minutes before Aster mustered up the energy to leave the bed and wander into the new doorway. He was met with a large bathroom; all the fixtures were black, of course, but were made from actual metal. There was a large black tub and shower head, with bottles of various scents.

Movement startled him, but he relaxed when he saw it was only a mirror. His appearance startled him next; his fur was dull, and matted in some areas, especially around his neck, and there were various gashes covering his chest. His eyes were red and puffy from many nights of tears shed and going without sleep.

After a few seconds, he snapped out of his daze, and shut and locked the door. He didn't know why he bothered, locked doors never stopped Pitch.

With a shaky breath, Aster started towards the tub.

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Aster had spent the better part of the half hour time limit given trying to scrub away the feeling of Pitch from everywhere. But he knew nothing would be enough to make it go away, even he bathed every day for a year. He got out after a couple more minutes, shook himself free of the water, and was now crouched in a corner of the room, glowering at the floor.

"Are you finished, Love?"

He glanced up to see Pitch leaning against the far wall, arms crossed and smirking arrogantly. Aster glowered, before hissing, "You said you'd let me out…"

"I know, Love, and I'm a Pooka of my word."

With a wave of his arm, a small patch of black sand fell away, revealing a doorway. Aster glared at him suspiciously, before slowly straightening to his full height and moving towards the door. His stomach clenched a little as he passed Pitch, but he attempted to keep his meager confidence showing.

"You do know you can't hide your fear from me, don't you?" Pitch asked as he followed close behind.

"Dunno wha' yer talkin' about…" Aster growled, and continued down the shadowy hall he'd entered.

He was pulled to a stop when Pitch wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him to his chest.

"You can't lie to me, Love…" the dark Pooka murmured, before nuzzling the side of Aster's neck.

"Ah, you smell heavenly…it's rather ironic that you smell like asters…"

Aster shuddered, before wrenching out of his grasp.

"Ya can keep yer bloody paws offa me ya sick freak…"

Pitch's smirk vanished off his face, replaced with a dark glare, before he vanished. Aster stumbled back, before he found himself once again trapped in Pitch's iron grip, with his arms restrained, and one arm wrapped around his neck and trapping him in a head lock.

"I may have let you out of your room, but there are stipulations," Pitch hissed, "If you fight me, I will hurt you; if you try to run from me, I will break every bone in your body, tie you down, and use you until you're torn apart."

Aster shuddered, a small whimper escaping him, before Pitch's grip tightened.

"Understand?"

He gave a quick nod, and gave a silent sigh of relief when he was released. Pitch kept one arm on his shoulders, and directed him down the hall. Wherever Pitch was taking him now had to be better than being locked in that small room and confined to the bed.

At least, he hoped…

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End file.
